Mon, Jul 26, 2010
New Sportsman TC Sports A Turbo-Normalized Engine
The newest member of the Glasair Aviation composite piston
family is the Sportsman TC, which has been upgraded with a
turbo-normalized powerplant. Glasair says the Sportsman TC merges
the Sportsman high utility design with a state-of-the-art
turbo-normalized engine and advanced carbon-fiber
materials.
The design and engineering changes, combined with the new
carbon-fiber fuselage, have resulted in a 40 lb reduction in empty
weight and a 150 lb increase in gross weight. This equates to about
a 200 lb increase in useful load, which now totals nearly 1200 lbs.
Glasair says performance is also significantly improved. The
Sportsman TC’s turbo-normalized engine produces sea level
manifold pressure all the way to 20,000 ft and offers significantly
higher cruise speeds on less fuel consumption than a normally
aspirated engine operating at 75% power.
Glasair President, Mikael Via was all smiles after his first
flight to over 16,000 ft in the Sportsman TC. “I’ve
always thought that the Sportsman had great performance, but I
think I’m going to have to redefine ‘great’," he
said. "Putting it all together – the airframe changes and
carbon fuselage, the advanced turbo-normalized engine, and the big
carbon-fiber Hartzell prop – the TC is a game changer for
us.”
Glasair says the Sportsman TC is also quieter, smoother, and
offers many other refinements. Notable enhancements include dual
HID wingtip landing lights, LED nav/strobes, parking brake,
integrated door locks, and more. The TC is available as a trike,
taildragger and/or on amphibious floats.
Commenting on the new TC, Director of R&D Ted Setzer said
“It’s not very often that we get an opportunity to
decrease an aircraft’s empty weight, increase its gross
weight, or significantly boost its climb and cruise performance.
Accomplishing all of this at the same time takes the Sportsman TC
to a whole new level. Needless to say, we’re very, very
excited about the TC.”
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